GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) Path Traversal vulnerability in wpmetabox/meta-box. A fix is available for wpmetabox/meta-box — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Meta Box Plugin for WordPress: Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary File Deletion via ajax_delete_file
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
wpmetabox/meta-boxReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The Meta Box plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the 'ajax_delete_file' function in all versions up to, and including, 5.11.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | wpmetabox/meta-box | all versions | 5.11.2composer require wpmetabox/meta-box:^5.11.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for wpmetabox/meta-box, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update wpmetabox/meta-box to 5.11.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-m4q3-832v-44j6 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.